The European Commission has confirmed that a decision to deny funding to dredge Cé Heilbhic lies solely with the Irish government.
No funding has been allocated for preparatory works before dredging the harbour which has led to serious difficulties for local fishermen and the RNLI.
Ireland was provided with over 900 million euro from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund - of which 35 million went toward fisheries, ports and harbours.
The EC have confirmed that these funds are considered flexible within certain situations despite reluctance from government to fund the prep works.
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has not yet provided Waterford Council with requisite funding to carry out the preparatory work required before dredging can take place. This includes environmental assessments and the procurement of a foreshore licence, which can cost as much as the dredging operation itself - if not more.
Local Sinn Fein Councillor Conor McGuinness says the situation is 'beyond frustrating' that there is still no green light.
Cllr. McGuinness had raised the issue with the European Commission directly in May this year, and had further engaged with the Commission on the matter throughout the summer.
Cllr. McGuinness has been working with Waterford TD David Cullinane to have the matter raised in the Dáil and with MEP Chris McManus in Brussels.
“The European Commission has confirmed to me in writing that it has no issue with the Irish Government allocating money for preparatory and dredging work for Cé Heilbhic out of Ireland’s total allocation of €920.4 million. The Government had tried to blame Europe but the response I received from the Commission makes it clear that member-states have maximum flexibility when it comes to deciding how the money are used. Earlier this year, the Irish Government announced that €35 million of the BAR fund would be made available to improve and upgrade local authority owned piers and harbours. Despite Waterford City and County Council submitting an application for funding to begin the process of dredging Cé Heilbhic, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have refused to make the necessary funding available."
“Once again, the Irish authorities are determined to be the best boys and girls in the class and to go over the top with regulations. This is particularly galling when the EU, which is providing the money, has called for ‘maximum flexibility’ in how it is allocated."
Cllr. McGuinness has questioned whether lives have to be lost before action is taken on the issue.
“Cé Heilbhic is a working fisheries harbour supporting commercial operations. It is also home to the RNLI Helvick Head and Dungarvan Lifeboat. The harbour has become full of sand and silt over recent years and is in dire need of dredging. As things stand, boats cannot enter or leave the harbour during low tides, and the situation is getting exponentially worse. Boats returning to port with their catch often have to wait at sea until the tide rises enough to allow them enter the harbour. There are serious concerns about the lifeboat being unable to respond to an emergency call at low tide due to being stuck in the harbour. Will it take a tragedy at sea before the coalition parties get their act together? Responsibility for this situation lies with the political leadership of the Department – Fianna Fáil Minister Charlie McConalogue and his Green Party and Fine Gael junior ministers. It is they who made up the regulations of the scheme and it is they that have the ability to amend them. Minister McConalogue and his colleagues are treating us as fools by trying to hide behind arbitrary rules that they themselves have the authority to make, break or change."
“It’s clear from the Commission’s response that it has made several attempts to engage directly with the Irish Government on this issue. There is a frustration in Brussels that what it calls ‘operational challenges’ remain almost a year after the fund was announced."
Cllr. McGuinness issued a rallying cry on the matter, and told WLR News that action must be taken as soon as possible before it is too late.
"There are three ministers - one from Fianna Fail, one from Fine Gael and one from the Green Party in the Department of Food, Agriculture and the Marine. Could they not get together and make the funding available to dredge Cé Heilbhic? If they want to announce it in the press from a councillor or representative from one of their own parties, that's fine - I won't even turn up on the day. Just get it done because I don't want to see lives lost at sea as a result of this harbour not being dredged. Boats can neither get in nor out and the lifeboat is stuck in port and can't get out to sea to affect a rescue. It's time to get this done and we need it done now."
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